The Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids meteor showers are set to dazzle our skies on Sunday night and through the rest of the week.
The first of the summer’s most impressive spectacles will start on Sunday night, as two enormous meteor showers will soar past Earth, illuminating our skies with countless cosmic rays, according to AccuWeather. Though the Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids will start on Sunday, we’ll have about a week of wonder, which is different from most showers, which typically last only a night or two.
An anticipated 15 to 20 meteors could whizz past us every hour, including some incredibly bright “fireballs,” the outlet continued. Unfortunately, the timing of the showers coincides with the full moon, which will take out some of the dimmer meteors from our view, but still make for a beautiful night.
Keep your eyes on the sky! ☄️🔭🤩
A flurry of meteors will soon dash across the heavens as both the Southern Delta Aquarids and Alpha Capricornids will peak Sunday night into early Monday morning. https://t.co/8bYHnULyYJ pic.twitter.com/OtiktPb9sA
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) July 26, 2023
A map shared by the outlet on Twitter suggests the best places to watch the showers will be the southeast states from east-Texas through to northern Florida, then up through to New England. Some parts of the Mountain west and Pacific northwest will also be able to check out the show, but isolated areas of foul weather may impede viewing. (RELATED: Super Freaking Cool Space Radar Will Hunt For Cataclysmic Asteroids)
For those who can’t get out to see the shower this weekend, the much-larger Perseid shower will hit on Saturday, Aug. 12, into the early hours of Aug. 13. If you’re not sure how to watch a meteor shower, the trick is to tilt your head toward the sky with your eyes open, and wait patiently.